Bear with us

The Bears try to sweep the season series from the Packers for the first time since 1991, but it really won't mean much since the Bears are out of the playoffs and Green Bay is in.

What began as the Rex Grossman era has turned into quarterback roulette for the Bears in 2004. Hopefully, they can end the year with a win and then make some good draft picks and focus on 2005. Not much else to say. The Packers' starters won't see much action today as they get prepared for the postseason.

Fox has their top announcing team for this one--Joe Buck, Troy Aikamn and Cris Collinsworth.

Adam Caldarelli is at Soldier Field. Send him your questions using the form on the right.

Football next.

Adam:Welcome, everyone, to the final game of the NFL regular season. Other teams will play on next week and the week after, but, as per the usual drill, the Bears will not. This one has all the significance and intrigue of a late-season Cubs game.
How bad is this week's slate of games that Fox's No. 1 crew is here? But despite the presence of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman and only the second appearance of SkyCam in Soldier Field this season, from any angle this game still is meaningless. Just asking but if the Bears sweep the Packers and no one cares, does it count? OK, we're going to try and be positive. At least it's not snowing. Great bowl games, by the way, yesterday.

The Bears will have the ball first and start at the 24. Thomas Jones gets his first carry and gains 7. Jones again and he gets the first down at the 36.

Adam:You can't stop this, Green Bay.

Hutchinson will throw and he completes to Terrell at the Green Bay 30 and Terrell breaks loose and motors down inside the 5 and is pulled down at the 2. Jones scores on the next play. Well, where was this all year?

Bears 7, Packers 0

Adam:What a start! This is going to be a great season! Oh, this is Week 17? Never mind.

That pass to Terrell covered 63 yards and it was the Bears' longest play of the year.

Adam: Oddly fitting that it was by David Terrell since he's erased so many other big plays this year, like Thomas Jones' huge pass play on the first play from scrimmage against Tampa.

Packers begin at the 33. Favre completes to the 49 on the first play. Favre tries to pass again, but it falls incomplete. Ahman Green takes the pitch and he's bottled up after a gain of about 1. Tony Fisher catches a pass out of the backfield and he'll come up a yard short of the first. Green Bay will go for it at the Bears' 42. Packers call timeout. Favre tries to hit Bubba Franks and it's knocked away and the Bears take over.

Adam:That should be it for Favre. The Bears look like they're fired up to sweep the Packers. The Packers, on the other hand, look like they're wondering if they're going to make their dinner reservations.

Hutch finds Lyman open on first down for a gain of 5 to the 47. A reverse to Berrian and gets 2 more. Hutch has time to throw, but no one is open and he'll be taken down at the 42. Bears have allowed 58 sacks now, most in the NFL. On the punt, the Packers are called for holding and will start inside the 15.

From the 14, Green gets 3 on a sweep. Favre completes to William Henderson and that'll be a first at the 32. Green picks up 6 more. Favre rolls out and completes to Franks at the Bears' 48. Favre hands off to Driver on the end around and the Bears saw it coming and he'll lose 9. Back at the 42, Green carries and gets 2. Screen pass to Green and he has running room and scampers to the Bears' 33. Green gets the call, and gains nothing. Favre goes to Fisher and he carries to the 17. Favre finds Franks wide open in the end zone and we have a tie game. Favre has thrown a TD pass against the Bears in 26 straight games. That's nuts.

Adam:I bet the Packers have thrown out of that extra tackle formation under five times all year. The Bears sure looked like they thought they were going to run. Franks ran right by Charles Tillman unchecked.

Bears 7, Packers 7

Azumah takes the kick back the 34. Jones gets the carry and reaches the 36. Jones again, and he picks up 6 more. Jones carries and he's gang-tackled at the line and the Bears will kick. Why not just pass there? It's the last game. Packers will start at the 18.

The first offense is still out there for GB, and Green carries and gains 4. On second down, Tommie Harris knocks away Favre's throw. Favre rolls right and as he nears the sideline, he throws and that pass is tipped too. GB punts and R.W. breaks numerous tackles on a 21-yard return to the Packers' 40. With 28 seconds left in the quarter, GB calls timeout.

Jones gains 2 and the quarter is over.

Second quarter

Hutchinson is going to be sacked by KGB back to the 48. He had no time to throw. On third down, Hutch tries for Clark and it's incomplete. A wasted chance there.

Adam:Colombo got beat bad by KGB on that sack.

On the punt, the ball hit Todd McMillon in the back .That's an illegal touch and the Packers will start at the 14.

Favre goes deep here and Donald Driver out-jumps Azumah for a big gain to the Bears' 33. Now Favre finds William Henderson all by himself for the TD. Mike Green came up to cover Henderson and he fell down.

Adam:A minute ago Favre was throwing out of his own end zone.

Packers 14, Bears 7

Azumah returns the kick to the 22. Jones picks up 4 on first down. Jones rushes out to the 30. We have an injury timeout. Hutch throws and it's picked off by Darren Sharper and he's gone down the sidelines.

Packers 21, Bears 7

The Bears will start at the 27. Jones gets nothing on first down and the fans boo. Joe Buck wants to know why Hutch is playing so much. He thinks they should let Jeff George play. Jones carries and gets the first at the 39. Hutch hits Clark for a 5-yard gain. Packers blitz and Hutch will go down all the way back at the 30.

Adam:That would make 60, the number of times Bears quarterbacks have been sacked this season.

Hutch tries a screen to Jones and it's incomplete and the boos continue.

Adam:You've got to finish like you start. I wonder if you can buy Brad Maynard jerseys?

Packers will start at the 27, and Craig Nall replaces Favre. Nall is in his second year out of N.W. Louisiana. Green carries for 3 and then Nall hits Franks to the 45. Now Nall goes to Ben Steele all the way to the Bears' 28. Green picks up a few.

Adam:The Bears have the same success stopping Craig Nall, Nick Luchey and Ben Steele as they do stopping Favre, Green and Franks.

Nall goes to the end zone and Javon Walker makes a great jumping catch for the TD. Wow. So much for the Packers mailing it in today.

Packers 28, Bears 7

Adam:The scrubs just drove on this supposed stingy Bears defense 71 yards in five plays. Favre's QB rating, by the way, was 151.6. Now I'm told 151.4. Whatever it is, it's good.

Bears start at the 26. Jones takes the pitch and will have some room. First down at the 40. Jones up the gut for 8 more and the umpire goes down on the play, but he's OK. He'll be feeling that in the morning. Jones gets the first to the 50.

Adam:The umpire's legs got cut out and his hat fell off revealing a bandaid on his forehead. Tough guy in the trenches.

Hutch completes to the 42. Jones gets the call and he'll lose 4 to the 46. Hutch looks for Wade, but it's too high and the Bears will punt. Packers will start at the 12. Fisher gets the call and he gains 6. Fisher will get 3 more, and the Bears call their first timeout. The Packers run and I couldn't see who it was as he was mobbed at the line. Close to the first and they'll measure. We're at the two-minute warning. Do they have to play the second half? GB is short and they will punt. It goes out of bounds at the Bears' 42.

Jones takes the screen and that ends up as a 1-yard gain. Now Hutch is taken down for the third time today. This is ugly. Here they come again and Hutch is down at the 30.

Adam:Hutchinson's face says it all: I'd rather be surfing.

Give the Pack some credit, they're going all out. After the punt, GB is at the 26. The first pass is incomplete and the second pass is tipped away. Cris Collinsworth says Rex Grossman is not a sure thing to be the answer at QB next year and that they should sign Kurt Warner. Now Nall will run and he'll be a yard shy of the first. R.W. returns the punt and, thankfully, the half ends.

Third quarter

Packers receive and will begin at the 30. Nall throws incomplete. Fisher sweeps left and he'll come up about 1/2-yard shy of the first. Fisher goes up the middle and barely makes the first at the 41. Nall rolls to his right and Driver is wide open, but he drops it. Fisher sweeps left and is run out of bounds after a loss of 4. Nall tosses a screen to Fisher, but he'll lose 2 more. GB punts and the ball rolls dead at the 21.

Adam Caldarelli is at Soldier Field. Send him your questions using the form on the right. He'll get the answers in the locker room after the game.

No Jeff George, folks. I thought they might give him a shot. Hey, the Bears are called for their first false start...it only took 2+ quarters. It's Olin Kreutz again. He's had problems all year along with Qasim Mitchell. The Bears are two penalties short of the team record for most in a season. Jones carries for 3 and then gets the call again and loses 3. Terrell catches a pass, but will be just short at the 30. Maynard punts and there are flags all over the place. Packers had 12 men on the field and that gives the Bears a first down at the 35. Hutch completes to Terrell across the middle to the GB 46. Draw to Jones for 2 yards. Hutch throws incomplete and then Jones runs on third-and-8, and he gains 4. Bears go for it and Hutch finds Berrian along the sideline to the 22. Great throw and catch. Hutch goes to the end zone, but the ball is out of play. There are two flags here. Bears are called for an illegal formation and the Packers are called for interference, so they'll replay the down. Hutch tosses a short one to Jones and he runs down to the 3. Jones carries to the 1. Jones dives over the top for the score.

Packers 28, Bears 14

Green Bay will start at the 27. Fisher carries for 3 and then Nall goes to Walker out to the 40. Fisher sweeps right and gains 2 more. GB is called for a false start. Nall goes to Walker and that's major yardage to the Bears' 21. Packers call timeout. Fisher runs up the middle and gets a few. Nall goes to the end zone and it's almost picked by Jerry Azumah and he was pushed by Driver and there's no call. Azumah is pleading his case. Nall completes to Antonio Chatman for a first down at the 6. He was open down the middle. Fisher runs for 3, and then Nall rolls out and throws into the end zone and it's knocked away by Briggs. The blitz is on and Nall lofts one to the corner and Nathan Vasher knocks it away. Ryan Longwell drills the field goal.

Packers 31, Bears 14

Bears are called for holding on the return and they'll start at the 9. Hutch completes to Berrian for a 5-yard gain and the quarter ends.

Fourth quarter

Jones carries for 11, and then 2 more. Hutch finds Wade on a screen for a yard. Hutch has time to pass and Wade is open down the middle, and it's a first at the 35. Jones runs for a few. Hutch is forced to run and, moving backwards, he finds Wade open at the 42. Screen to Jones and that doesn't fool anyone. No gain. The Bears fake the punt and Maynard throws incomplete. No flags, but the refs are meeting. Now they throw a flag and it's pass interference on GB and a first down. Not sure why the flag wasn't thrown during the play. Anyway, the Bears keep the ball and it rests at the Bears' 45. Jones sweeps left and excelerates to the GB 46. Jones gets the call again and makes the first at the 44. Jones carries for no gain. Now a penalty for offensive holding so it's back to the Bears' 46. Hutch throws for Clark and he can't make the play. Jones takes a short pass for 7 and the Bears go for it on fourth down. Hutch has time for a moment and then is sacked yet again--the sixth of the day for GB.

Packers run for a first to the Bears' 40. Nothing worse than a meaningless game in the last quarter. Fisher runs and that's another first at the 29. Now he carries and loses 4. Bears call timeout with 4:40 left. Bubba Franks is hurt. If he misses the playoffs, the Packers are going to wonder why they were using him in the fourth quarter. Fisher gets the call and runs for a few more. Fisher again for a couple and the Bears take a timeout on fourth down. Packers punt.

Hutch completes to Clark to the 28 and then the two fail to hookup. Now they hookup again and that's a first at the 35. Hutch is hit trying to pass and he loses the ball, but the Bears recover. GB had too many men on the field. No wonder they had such a good rush. Hutch completes to the 43, and then goes to Terrell to the 50 at the two-minute warning. After two incompletions, the Bears are called for a false start. Hutch throws for Wade and it's too low. Here comes what could be the last play of the season. Fittingly, Hutchinson is sacked on the play.

Green Bay will run out the clock and the Bears' season ends with four straight losses. The Bears end up 5-11.